From Adolescent Rebellion to Stepping Back into Dafa: A Little Disciple’s Cultivation Journey

(Minghui.org) I was born in the 1990s and I began practicing Falun Dafa with my mother before the persecution began on July 20, 1999. Although I was young, Dafa was deeply rooted in my heart. As I got older I went through a period of adolescent rebellion. I wasted time while I attended a university, and I set Falun Dafa aside. However I never forgot that I was a practitioner. I would like to tell you about my cultivation journey.

Everything Changes

My mother urged me to keep reading the Fa after I graduated from college and started working. I resisted and resented her pushing me. I was making money and I was very attracted to the material world. I went shopping, ate at nice restaurants, and watched movies. I didn’t stop until I was tired of playing.

But my restful period didn’t last long. My mother started to have illness symptoms. Because I was not studying the Fa I did not view this as a cultivation test.

My mother’s health deteriorated and her eyesight was affected. Due to my father’s insistence she had an operation. As a result she became blind. My relaxed life was suddenly disrupted. I had to take care of my mother after work and didn’t have any time for myself. My father nearly collapsed due to my mother’s illness. My mother was always a “super woman” and now needed care. She was under huge mental pressure herself.

I could no longer indulge myself and I became the backbone of my family. The environment at my workplace was unpleasant and I also had to take care of everything at home. I sometimes stopped my car by the road after work and watched people coming and going. My memory was grey during that time. I felt sad, not just for myself and for loss of my freedom, but also for everyone around me. When I recalled that practitioners have a mission to save people, I felt I could not save myself, let alone save others.

Returning to Falun Dafa

When I felt lost and numb, I remembered Falun Dafa. I picked up Zhuan Falun and read, but I didn’t cultivate diligently. The house chores entangled me. Thanks to Master’s compassion a practitioner came to help me. One night I dreamed that I fell from a cliff but a girl grabbed my hand and pulled me up.

A young female practitioner named Wenjing came to my home one week later. Previously whenever practitioners came to visit my mother, I greeted them out of courtesy and then hid in my room. I was afraid they would ask me to study the Fa or urge me to be diligent. I would not reply or make any promises because I was afraid that I would let Master down. But Wenjing looked different. She was just a few years older than me. She was young and beautiful and quite fashionable. She didn’t ask me to do anything. She told me about her cultivation experiences and made two suggestions: “Study the Fa more and send righteous thoughts more.”

Mother said this numerous times but I always ignored her. But this time I put it into practice. I studied the Fa more and sent forth righteous thoughts more. Very quickly I underwent a fundamental change. Studying the Fa and sending forth righteous thoughts became part of my life.

Wenjing invited me to her home and said that several other young practitioners were also invited. I was a bit nervous. I was afraid that the other practitioners were very diligent while I was lazy. I was afraid that they could talk a lot about Fa principles while I knew very little. She saw my concern and said, “Don’t think too much. We are all young people—we just chat about ourselves. Just regard it as an opportunity to meet new friends.” I was still nervous but looked forward to the meeting.

When I arrived at Wenjing’s home I saw young practitioners my age. The atmosphere was relaxed and friendly even though it was the first time we met. It was unlike meeting with everyday people who put on airs and guarded against each other. These people were different—everyone was cordial and seemed like old friends. The food was delicious. We chatted happily and laughed a lot. We talked about our cultivation stories while enjoying the good food.

We were all little Dafa disciples—we began practicing with our parents or grandparents when we were children. Thanks to Master’s compassion, we got together again. Everyone shared their amazing stories, and we encouraged each other. As we talked Wenjing suggested that we could form Fa study groups with people living near us. Everyone agreed.

I decided to study the Fa with Wenjing, and another practitioner joined us. It was very cold that winter, but my heart was warm. Thank you Master! Thank you fellow practitioners! I found my way back home.

Cooperation

With Wenjing’s encouragement the young practitioners kept coming. I attended many gatherings at her home and met new practitioners. Everyone was cordial and we didn’t feel awkward. They came from all walks of life, and included teachers, doctors, journalists, drivers, bank clerks, business employees, bosses of private sectors, and government officials. We followed our parents’ footsteps and validated the Fa.

Wenjing kept looking for previous little practitioners. I wanted to help her. Soon Master gave me an opportunity. One elderly practitioner told my mother that her daughter-in-law Gao started to practice Falun Dafa and wanted to meet other young practitioners. She gave me Gao’s contact information. My mother asked me to see Wenjing and told her about Gao.

I didn’t have time to see Wenjing so I decided to see Gao first. Her mother-in-law opened the door for me.

I introduced myself to Gao and told her my cultivation stories. I learned that her mother was a practitioner so she was a little Dafa disciple as well. We chatted happily and one hour quickly passed. I invited her to dinner at my home and she accepted.

I went to see Wenjing and made an appointment with her and Gao. When we met we talked freely about our tribulations in life and the wonderfulness of practicing Falun Dafa. We chatted until midnight, and decided to meet again. Gao soon found a local Fa study group.

Mother-in-law and Daughter-in-law

My life remained calm after I got married. My mother-in-law is a practitioner, so I avoided many troubles which normally surface between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. But unexpectedly I had a big xinxing test with her.

I was the last one among my friends to get married. My everyday friends had all sorts of problems with their mothers-in-law. Nowadays many young people are self-centered and put their personal interests first. Almost all of them rely on their parents and parents-in-law for financial assistance and to help with their households. The relationships among everyday people are so bad that even a married couple has barriers against each other let alone mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.

My problem with my mother-in-law began when I got pregnant. She was not good at house chores or looking after others. My pregnancy was difficult. As my mother was blind she couldn’t look after me, so I asked my mother-in-law to take care of me. We got along in the beginning. But conflicts started as time went on. She thought I was squeamish and demanding. I thought she was unreasonable. My husband was busy with work and couldn’t help me—he expected his mother to look after me. She thought her son was unfilial. I complained that she was selfish. Our relationship became tense.

Our conflicts intensified when I had the symptom of a miscarriage. My mother-in-law had to visit me in the hospital. Knowing she was unable to look after me, she offered to hire a care worker to help me. She looked sincere so I believed her. Several days later she regretted her decision and said that she could only pay for two months. We had to pay for the remaining period. My husband didn’t say anything. I felt unbalanced in my heart. I couldn’t sleep, and a big fight with her was looming.

The night I was discharged from the hospital, I asked my mother-in-law to come to my house to discuss the issue. She asked me how I was feeling, was everything smooth, and was I satisfied with the care worker. I said yes and went directly to the topic.

I asked her, “Mom, how long did you plan to have the care worker?” She was unprepared for my frankness and said, “It’s up to you.” I said, “We don’t cover the expenses so we cannot decide.” She continued, “It’s up to you. I am old and I will do whatever you ask me to do. I am okay with whatever your arrangement is.” “Then how about the wages?” “You discuss. Both of you discuss with the care worker.” She didn’t answer my questions directly.

I turned to my husband. He didn’t say anything. I turned to my mother-in-law. She dismissed me with, “I will listen to your arrangement.” I wanted to ask her, “You said you wanted to hire a care worker. Why don’t you admit it now?” But I didn’t say it. It might be that Master didn’t let me say anything that was disrespectful of the older generation.

The care worker was a practitioner. After we talked I realized that it was a xinxing test for me. My resentment and dissatisfaction with my mother-in-law disappeared. I regretted my angry words towards her. Remembering her awkward expression, I felt I was so unkind. As a practitioner, I shouldn’t do that. I finally passed the test. I let go of my feelings of unfairness and other attachments.

Everything I have comes from Dafa. Thank you, Master, for not giving up on me and for your benevolent salvation.